


So...That Scar

by dekutemee (Jeonlvx)



Series: Gladion and Elio just being teenagers [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mild Language, Non-Graphic Violence, Pokemon - Freeform, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Team Skull is mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-11-17 18:41:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18104189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jeonlvx/pseuds/dekutemee
Summary: Elio's blood ran cold as he was pulled away from reality at the call of his next move. He could see it, he was back at Ula'ula Island where Kendo was knocked out before him, begging her to wake up. Vale was on the other side, eyes completely devoid of emotion. He tried to reach for his partner, but was suddenly charged at as Vale bared his fangs, clamping his mouth shut and striking his face.He saw nothing but red and the blurry retreating figures of Team Skull. Elio was done for.





	So...That Scar

**Author's Note:**

> I tried adding some tags but it didn't allow me, mY APOLOGIES.

He had an excuse as to why he was curious about. All of them did, but no one dared to bring it up. He just showed up one day, scar etched on his right eye and no one brought it up. Lillie has tried but always ended up shutting up because she was afraid she'll make him upset. It's not her fault though, hell Hau tried as well. No one knew the details about it only that Hau begged them not to pry into it that much. So both of them decided to just drop their curiosity, but do they honestly think that Gladion was going to follow suit?

 

Damn right he isn't.

 

When Gladion has his mind set on something (or someone. Cough) he goes for it. To him, the buddy rules do not apply. And that's code for "I-will-eventually-find-out-why-he-has-that-scar-and-you-will-remember-me-for-it"

 

It doesn't help that Elio is just so _nice._ So incredibly nice that they fear what he looks like when he's _pissed off_ , but Gladion doesn't. He does not give two flying Pidgeys about _how_ Elio looks like when he's mad or happy. He just doesn't. He doesn't care how his short, messy, and tousled pitch black hair flares up when he's excited. He doesn't care how his ruby eyes look when he's in the midst of a battle. He doesn't care—

 

Well he just doesn't care.

 

Gladion took it upon himself to volunteer to ask Elio about his scar, and he _will_ find out even if it kills him in the process.

 

\--

 

Today, Hau and Lillie called up Gladion for a drink since they all had their day off. Unfortunately, Elio was stuck up on Mount Lanakila doing his scheduled battles to defend his title as Champion. He declared this day as the day he'll finally come up and clean about their mutual curiosity, and he needed some intel on the target. Hau knew Elio the most out of everyone, so he was the best option to go for.

 

"What does Elio do when he's done at the League?" The tan skinned boy pondered at the question, waving his Malasada in the air. "Oh, oh! He usually goes to visit the Tapus to pay his respects, either that or just spends some time at the Library in Malie!"

 

"What's with the sudden question, brother?" Lillie piped in. Now they both were curious because Gladion never really asks about others, he's usually the lone type and strays away from everyone. When Gladion didn't answer his sister's question, Hau seemed like he got the message. "Gladion, no. Don't even think about it."

 

"Think about what? What are you thinking?"

 

"The-the-the scar. He wants to ask Elio about the scar—don't do it!" Hau leaned over the table, zooming into Gladion's face. The older boy shoved his face away and avoided eye contact with them. "Are you really planning on asking him? What if it's a sensitive subject for him?"

 

"I'm not interested in how it might affect him. All I need to do is feed my curiosity and then all of this will be over with." _Lies._

 

"How heartless can you still be?!"

 

"That's none of your concern."

 

"Lillie! Say something!"

 

"I'm afraid I—" Her sentence was cut short when the sound of a cellphone going off caught Hau's attention. He pulled the device out and did a spit take on Gladion's face, clicking the green button. He was completely unaware of the menacing glare the emerald eyed boy was sending his way.

 

"Uh hey, Elio. My man, you out yet?" He awkwardly laugh, playing it casual.

 

_"Yeah,_ _I'm on my way to Poni Island_ _then_ _I'll be heading home._ _What's up?"_

 

"Hey, funny you should ask. Do you mind if I pick—" Gladion snatched his phone, earning a nervous 'hey!' from the other. He put the phone up to his ear and walked away from the table. "Hey, it's Gladion. Meet me at Poni Plains in an hour. Don't even think about ditching, goodbye."

 

"Gladion what the hell?!" He panicked when his phone was tossed back to him as Gladion grabbed his stuff.

 

"If I see you following us I will beat you down right then and there. Got that?" Hau flushed in annoyance.

 

"Sure thing, Guzma. Anything else?" Gladion smacked down some money and gave him the stink eye. "I don't trust your tone of voice, so I'm bribing you with money."

 

"That's low—"

 

"How about Malasadas?"

 

"Sold. See you tomorrow, Gladion!"

 

"Hau!" Gladion took his leave and went off to Poni Island. Okay, he might've lied about the part where he said he didn't care what Elio would feel if he flat out just asked his question. He did care. Gladion didn't want to just take advantage of someone so kind and pure hearted so he could pry into something that might be hidden under the rugs. He honestly didn't. But there were so many opportunities where he could've just asked him straight up, but he couldn't.

 

So this was the day. They'll meet at 7:23, at exactly one hour from now and he'll ask him.

 

Just thinking about it made his body sweat, so he decided to train to pass the time here at Poni Plains.

 

**───────────**

 

It was 7:20 when Elio finally showed up. Just three minutes before an hour.

 

"Sorry I'm late. Did you wait too long?"

 

"Three more minutes and it would've marked an hour." Elio laughed at this and went to greet Silvally. Gladion settled underneath one of the palms and gazed out into the sky. Elio and Silvally joined him only that the raven sat a couple inches away from him. "So what's up with you? Normally you don't like being with us one-on-one."

 

"Well this meet up will mostly benefit me, so I'm not sure if I should go through with it or not."

 

"Well surely it's not something I _can_ _'t_ handle."

 

"Oh the irony." Elio perked up, confusion laced in his eyes. Gladion pursed his lips and scratched Silvally's head to distract himself. "I mean, I'm sure you've had people ask you about it and we didn't want to make you uncomfortable by doing so. Hau and Lillie wouldn't shut up about it ever since you resumed your Island Trials after your disappearance, and soon after it got my curiosity."

 

A sigh escaped the raven's lips and dusted off his clothes as soon as he got up. "It's the scar right? This... horrendous _fucking_ scar." Gladion gulped nervously. Don't get him wrong, he's heard profanity wherever he went and he's grown used to it so it shouldn't be a surprise. But hearing Elio use that type of language just made the word sound 10 times more intense than it actually is, and it just didn't sound...Elio-like.

 

"I've noticed you guys always stare at _it_ more than you do at me, so I knew that the question would eventually come. I just didn't expect it to be now, and of all people it was from you." Elio reached up to trace the mark, a frown decorating his features.

 

"In all due respect, you don't need to feel obliged to answer me. I was half expecting you to completely disregard the question and just yell at me or something, but this just feels worse than the other outcomes." He let out a dry laughter, filling the emptiness from the area. He then proceeded to reach for one of his pokeballs, inspecting the capsule in his palm.

 

"You remember Vale, right?"

 

"The problematic Larvitar hatchling. I remember."

 

"I guess I should just tell someone instead of keeping it bottled up," he sat down again and told his story. "It was March 13th at exactly 6:36 pm when it happened. I was on my way to take Acerola's trial, just out there training my pokemon for the totem battle. Then a group of the Team Skull grunts had ambushed us and actually managed to catch us off-guard. They came to us with an _actual plan."_

 

"At first they tried using Kendo against me, trying many different methods to get her to attack me. But when they realized that their efforts were useless, they settled on Vale who was trying his best to get Kendo to snap out of it. Those two were my only way of getting out of the situation since the rest of the team were back at the Pokemon Center, and you of all people know how weak-minded Vale was at that time." At this point, his voice was between the line of being stable to completely giving out on him.

 

Gladion didn't realize how difficult this was on Elio, how traumatized he must've been during that situation. He watched how he placed the ball down and turned to face the other way so he had his back faced his way. "Vale had gone through so much, so they knew getting him to their side was the easy way to winning. Kendo was out cold due to the exhaustion and it was up to me to get Vale out of their grasp. Using the pokeball was no use since he just kept running away. It wasn't until..."

 

"Elio..."

 

"I knew he didn't mean to, he wasn't aware of what he was doing...I had reached to grab his trembling body, and it might've triggered an old memory. His first instinct was to attack and used Thunder Fang on me, landing his fangs directly on my right eye. Not only did it physically hurt, it completely immobilized me for weeks. That explains why I wasn't there for the whole Lusamine freak show. While Lillie was in danger, I was at the hospital getting my injuries tend to."

 

"The impact was incredibly extreme that the doctors dropped the bomb on me saying that I will gradually start losing my vision for it." The older boy felt like he heard enough and picked himself up, inching closer to the other. He was good at hiding it, but Elio was holding back his noises until Gladion came into view. It was then that Elio broke down in front him that Gladion felt his world tear apart. He had been holding back for so long that not a single noise was as quiet as he was, and it just hurt to see Elio like this.

 

"N-not only did it traumatized me, Vale refuses to battle with me because of it. He always just stands there and does not move an inch, and I just want him to know that it wasn't his fault but I can't." Silvally bent down to nudge at the pokeball, grunting at it. He picked up the ball and looked down at Elio, his shaking shoulders signifying that he was crying. Hard.

 

The blond gently grabbed him by his arms and handed him the ball back. "I apologise for bringing up the topic, but may I suggest some tips? Seeing how you are in the same situation Silvally and I were back then."

 

The younger boy waited for Gladion to gather his thoughts and gazed at him with a hint of hope. "You should take the time to get him out of his shell. At this point he's ready fully evolved right?"

 

"Fully..."

 

"Remind him of his old days, how you raised him, the good memories you guys spent. Personally I couldn't do that with Type: Null because it was created and I had stolen him, but you have so many memories with Vale. If that doesn't work, try a different approach. If you want to talk to him, take him out of his ball and say what you want to say and leave him be. Just leave him outside your house where you know he'll be safe, give him space. Surely the situation probably scarred him as well."

 

Elio reached to wipe his tears away, flinching slight at the contact of the scar. He twirled the pokeball in his hands, hoping that his relationship with Vale would improve for the better. "Thanks, Gladion...for listening to my story."

 

"Feels better, right? Talking to someone about your traumas?" Elio nodded and stuck his hand out. Gladion glanced down and reached to shake his hand, doing their little routine of their secret handshake.

 

"You should be heading home now. And thank you for not lashing out on me."

 

"Don't mention it. Thanks for listening." He took out his ride pager and waited as Charizard came to his aid, climbing on his back. Gladion took it upon himself to see him off, but Elio had offered him to drop him off at Paradise.

 

"Don't even bother. That place doesn't even feel like home even after the whole incident, you just go get some rest."

 

"Are you sure? Where are you—"

 

"Elio." The raven apologized and bid his farewells, offering a goodnight to the blonde. He waited until Charizard was out of sight and decided to head back to Akala Island, feeling quite satisfied that he got to know Elio a little more than he did before.

 

**───────────**

 

_**Elio** _

 

The next morning, he was woken up by a fin pricking his nose which meant it was feeding time for his pokemon. Kaili, his Dragalge, did her best when it came to waking him up. She was a late birthday present from his mom when she found her stranded in the beach with a bunch of Sandygast ganging up on her. He made sure that she recovered from the experience and often took her back home to visit her friends in the ocean.

 

Elio groggily made his way to the kitchen, taking out each of their bowls. He asked Kaili to gather to others out on the yard so he could have some time to prepare their breakfast. Kendo, his water-type starter, liked her food with Pecha Berries and minty leaves. So he carefully prepared her food and set it to the side once he was done. Shindo, the Mudsdale, enjoyed eating it plain dry so he finished his portion by adding Wiki Berries on top.

 

Kaili preferred it with Spelon Berries, seeing as how she enjoys eating those berries. Usually the Berry Farm delivers them each month so they have a huge stock enough to feed Kaili, so she doesn't need to worry much.

 

Cha the Hawlucha had a strict diet, so he was to only eat one portion of sliced Oran Berries with sprinkled hot spice over them. His original trainer had informed him that he would refuse to eat unless you had the certain spice he enjoyed, and it was powdered Tamato Berry.

 

And finally, Kai the Golisopod. To say he wasn't a picky eater was an understatement, but he was. Kai refuses to eat any sort of berries that you give him, he'll only eat pokebeans. Sure he still eats the pokemon food, but you have to mush the treat into the food and add some bitterness in it. Elio had spent over a week just find what Kai would and would not eat, and it was a _pain._

 

Once he was finally done, he carried all five plates outside, seeing how his team was already excited about their breakfast. They wasted no time in eating and immediately dug down into their food. Elio sighed and wiped his forehead, returning back to the kitchen and looking out the window. All his pokemon were fed, they were happy, so what else did he needed to do?

  
  


Vale.

  
  


He hadn't taken him out ever since his refusal to battle during Nanu's battle. He still gained experience from the Exp. Share, so eventually he just became fully evolved on his own. He knew it was unhealthy for him just staying in the ball for days, so he headed back outside and separated himself from the others so he could be alone. He reached down to his pocket and stared at it for a couple seconds.

 

"We are going to fix this...I promise you," he brought the pokeball up to his face, flashing his scar. Taking a couple deep breaths, he pulled his arm back and tossed the ball into the air. "Vale, come on out!"

 

The capsule popped open as bright light burst out of it. The ball returned to his hand as it took the form of a huge, bipedal creature, fading out as Vale's unmoving figure remained in place. His eyes were shut closed, but his breathing was hearable from where he stood. Elio was feeling nervous approaching him after so long, but Vale was his pokemon and he knew that he meant no harm.

 

"Hey, buddy... it's me, Elio. I called you out to see if you wanted anything to eat?"

 

No response.

 

Elio averted his gaze down, a little disappointed that he received no response.

  
  
  
  


_"_ _If you want to talk to him, take him out of his ball and say what you want to say and leave him be."_

  
  
  
  


Regaining his composure, Elio once again looked up at Vale's face. "Okay, you don't have to answer me if I make you uncomfortable. However, I will bring you a tray of food so that you could enjoy by yourself. We're going to take baby steps, baby steps." He headed back inside, returning with a plate and a small crate of berries.

 

"You can go ahead and use whatever topping you want, that way you don't constantly have me disturbing you every day." Elio set down the ingredients, wishing him a good meal before returning back inside. Luckily, he had the next two days off so he was free to hang out with his friends today. He slipped on his white button up shirt and black sweatpants, deciding to go buy some breakfast at Hau'oli City. Kendo opted to stay behind and keep an eye on the house with the others, but Kaili desperately wanted to follow him to enjoy the sights.

 

He agreed to take her and they left the house on Kendo's fins, leaving to the west towards Hau'oli Outskirts. Elio received a few stares from the locals, and even some pictures from others. Some even felt intimidated from the Poison/Dragon type next to him, but it was sort of hilarious to see them freak out over an excited dragon floating next to him. Kaili was anything but intimidating, she enjoyed discovering new things and meeting new people and Pokemon.

 

They made their way to the Malasada Shop, exciting the cashier lady and getting dragged for another picture. He ordered one Malasada to go and the service was so fast that he couldn't even get to look at the whole place. Elio thanked them and paid for his purchase, leaving the shop with Kaili behind him. On his way back, he came across a young trial goer who seemed down in the dumps if anything.

 

He disliked seeing other people bummed out, so approached the little boy. "Hey, what's gotten you down?"

 

The boy looked up and seemed taken aback that Alola's Champion was right in front of him with his pokemon next to him asking him what's wrong. He stuttered his words and bowed down in respect. "S-sir, it's a pleasure to meet you!"

 

"Don't," Elio lifted his head up. "Don't do that. Elio is just fine."

 

"E-elio..." The champion chuckled at the boy.

 

"Now, tell me what's your name?" The boy looked confused for a second before spitting out his answer. "Jared, sir!" Elio inwardly sighed and smiled down at him. Kaili snickered behind him and he continued on. "So, Jared, what's going on?" The boy's posture deflated and looked down at his hands.

 

"I've challenged Kahuna Hala multiple times and I still haven't passed the first trial."

 

"Who's in your team?"

 

"Litten, Lillipup, and Noibat..." He cringed slightly at his choice of type advantages. Elio patted Jared's back and poked at his chest. "Train to be better than the you you were then, maybe this time you'll be able to defeat Hala. You also need to trust your partners, if you do then they will respond to your every command." Jared's eyes lit up and his frown shifted into a smile, nodding enthusiastically.

 

"If it's not too much to ask, can Lillipup and I have a practice battle with you? Recently it was taught a new move by my dad's Stoutland so we want to try it out!" Kaili didn't even need to be told before she circled around them happily, taking her battle stance after she was done. Jared sent out his Lillipup, the brown creature flinching upon witnessing its opponent's size.

 

Kaili circled in the air and Elio laughed at her actions. "Calm down, girl. Try not to attack them, just dodge." Kaili chirped and regained her posture, waiting for any orders. Jared gave Lillipup a small pep talk before starting off with Take Down. Kaili withstood the attack, not even leaving a scratch to begin with. "Use Take Down again!"

 

"Dodge it this time."

 

Kaili swerved to the side and chuckled at Lillipup's attempt to follow her. Jared looked quite nervous and finally called out their next move. "It may be unfinished for now, but let's try it out!"

 

_"Thunder Fang!"_

 

Elio's blood ran cold as he was pulled away from reality at the call of his next move. He could see it, he was back at Ula'ula Island where Kendo was knocked out before him, begging her to wake up. Vale was on the other side, eyes completely devoid of emotion. He tried to reach for his partner, but was suddenly charged at as Vale bared his fangs, clamping his mouth shut and striking his face.

 

He saw nothing but red and the blurry retreating figures of Team Skull. Elio was done for.

  
  
  


_"Gunk Shot!"_

 

Kaili reacted without a thought and fired out gunk at Lillipup, knocking it out with ease. Jared looked crestfallen and looked up at him with confusion. Elio covered his right eye and was already heavy breathing at this point. "I-i thought you said you weren't going to attack..." Kaili turned to look at her trainer, floating close to him for comfort. He apologized for his actions, reminding him of what he needed to do before storming back home.

 

It wasn't like him to burst like that, especially on a child nonetheless. The memory was just too scarring he used whatever he had to get rid of that image and it was Kaili. Upon returning back home, he ditched his Malasada at the table and went to cope in his bedroom. He needed someone right now, and he knew Hau would just be straight up confused and ask him about everything. Lillie was too fragile he would probably scare her away upon opening is mouth.

 

The only one left was Gladion, but even he couldn't make it over here from Akala. He needed to learn how to be independent and not bother his friends with his problems, so he held everything in and let out his frustrations quietly. He was a lost cause, there was no way to restore his bond with Vale once again. Elio lost and he didn't know what to do.

 

**───────────**

 

"So...what did Elio say?"

 

"It's not my place to reveal that information."

 

Hau had come to search for him to ask about the whole situation with the scar. Gladion knew that he was just worried about Elio, but he couldn't just tell him without Elio's consent and ruin their friendship. Hau begged on his knees and Gladion was about to kick him out before a knock interrupted their conversation. Silvally took the lead and went to check who it was, opening the door to reveal Lillie and her worried expression.

 

Hau got up and greeted her awkwardly. "Yo, Lillie!" Gladion gave him a glare and urged his sister to speak up. The younger girl struggled to speak and used her hands to motion to her back. Hau reached to calm her down with gentle pats on the shoulder.

 

"I was—Kukui, then—Kaili and Elio...!" She took deep breaths to relax her heartbeat. At the mention of the raven, Gladion snapped his body around and left the Motel with Silvally following. The others followed suit and they made their way to Melemele Island, worried about the other.

 

\--

 

Upon arriving at Route 1, Gladion scurried off to Elio's house, seeing his pokemon leaning on the railing to look who it was. He went up to knock on the door, calling out Elio's name. Kaili flew over the wooden rails and opened the door with the key from inside. Elio was not in the kitchen or the living room, so must be in his room. The trio made way and gently opened the door.

 

Elio sat on the floor next to his bed, elbows on his knees as his head was nuzzled in his palms.

 

"Dude looks shaken up."

 

"Thanks for noticing, Hau," Gladion knelt down and removed Elio's arms away from his face. "It was just a practice battle for the kid...but I couldn't handle it...he..he..."

 

He was hyperventilating, and Gladion pulled back his attention to them. "Elio, snap out of it. Whatever happened happened, okay? Let it go."

 

"I can't get the image out of my head! I know Vale didn't mean to, but it's still there and here!" He pointed to the large scar on his eye. "Face it, Gladion. Vale and I are done for, I can't fix anything!"

 

"You haven't even tried, yet!"

 

"Of course I have!" Elio stood up and swung open his curtains, revealing the still unmoving Tyranitar with his eyes closed.

 

"I talked to him, I told him that we we're going to fix everything, I even offered him some food but it remained untouched!" Lillie peered over the window to inspect the pokemon, opening the window for a clear view. Hau and Gladion exchanged glances and pulled Elio to his bed. "Keep screaming like that and you'll frighten your pokemon." The tan skinned boy suggested.

 

Elio tugged at his hair angrily, the tears getting the best of him. He hated the fact that he wasn't over the incident, he absolutely _hated_ it.

 

"Uh, guys?"

 

"What's up?" They all averted their eyes to the youngest, and she took it as a sign to continue.

 

"Was that bowl empty when you left, Elio?"

 

He was about to tell her to quit joking, but he realized that Lillie wasn't that type of person to do that. Elio looked up at her with red eyes and went to inspect the scene, face scrunching up in confusion. "No, it was full when I...." His eyes went wide and ran to the backyard. Not yet, he didn't want to get his hopes high yet.

 

All his Pokemon were either too busy playing with each other or napping, and when their trainer burst out through the door they halted their actions. Huffing out with anxiety, Elio locked eyes with everyone and raised his voice. "Anyone ate more than they should've today?"

 

They all simultaneously shaked their heads and Elio hurried to the back and sure indeed Vale's bowl was completely empty. He noticed that all the Aspear Berries were gone from the crate. "I don't understand...did—"

 

"I guess my advice worked after all." Gladion peered over his shoulder and placed his hand on his hips. The raven pushed his hair back and turned to him. "But what if it's a one-time thing? What if Vale doesn't want to be with me anymore? What am I going to do?" Gladion pushed his hands that were already reaching up to his hair.

 

"Have faith in him, Elio. Things like this take their time. I'm sure Vale will come to when he knows that both of you reformed your broken bond, believe me."

 

Feeling encouraged by his words, Elio jumped at Gladion and embraced him with a firm grip. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He released him and took the tray and crate back inside, happy that there was a reaction from his partner. Gladion, who was currently trying to process what just happened, stood there with a shocked expression. Was his heart functioning? Did his brain work? What is the stupid giddy feeling in his chest?

 

"I-I-I...."

 

"Dude, Gladion. That's love." Hau popped his head through the window, Lillie nodding in agreement in the back.

 

"Shut up!"

 

**───────────**

 

Now that his break was over, Elio returned back to Mount Lanakila and resumed his champion job. He heard from the Elite Four that rumors about him going rough against a trial goer are spreading around the four islands. He felt awful for doing that to the kid, but people needed to understand that Elio was human. He made mistakes and felt truly guilty for his actions, but that was two days ago they needed to get over it.

 

Today he had five challengers. He dealt with the first two with just Kaili and Shindo. The third one required him to use four of his five pokemon, and it was quite tough but fun at the same time. Unfortunately the fourth challenger was defeated by Kahili's Toucannon so he was down to the last challenger for today.

 

The clock struck 6PM, which is usually when he was done with the League. Lillie had suggested to take Vale up to the Champions room and let it relax up there, and he agreed so Vale's pokeball was sitting in the throne behind him. He was out for the first two battles, but Elio felt like he needed some peace and quiet so he returned him back to his ball.

 

Finally, the last challenger made it to the Champions room and Elio prepared Kaili's ball. It was a male that seemed close to Gladion's age, but that didn't matter to Elio if it meant defending his title. The boy threw his ball in the air and cockily smirked at him. "Hmph, you don't look like much."

 

He often got challengers who were so full of themselves, so Elio had gotten used to their snarky remarks.

 

"How about you wait until you beat me and then you'll find out if I'm not much, how about that?" The boy snickered and tossed his ball in the air, his Alolan Muk popping out. He hadn't battled any Muk from this region, but from what Kukui had told him is that their half Poison half Dark.

 

It made sense to use Shindo as his starting pokemon. His Muk looked powerful if he was honest, but he had faith in Shindo to defeat this threat for the majority of his team.

 

"Let's start this off simple. Minimize."

 

"Shindo use High Horsepower before the raise their evasiveness!"

 

Trotting with enough speed, Shindo reached Muk within seconds and kicked his hind legs but eventually missed the attack. Elio cursed and wanted to put some distance between them. "Get away and use Earthquake!"

 

"Payback."

 

Shindo slammed his hooves, shaking the whole platform as Muk withstood the attack. It then charged at him and delivered a blow straight at his chest. He believed in Shindo and his high defenses, and he almost yelled in joy when he came out unscathed. "Keep it up with Earthquake!"

 

"Minimize!"

 

Shindo had a keen eye and did not allow Muk to raise his evasiveness. He delivered his attack and with that, Muk was out of the battle. Elio rubbed Shindo's mane and congratulated him. His ruby eyes trailed to the older boy, a grin in his face. "Next,"

 

"That grin won't be there for long. Weavile, let's go!"

 

"Shindo, you did amazing. Return." He recalled his Pokemon and took out the next one. Weavile was a pretty fast pokemon, so luckily his Golisopod had a priority move that was super effective on the ice and dark type. That battle only lasted for three seconds as Kai took out the Weavile with his First Impression.

 

The other guy was looking quite irritated at this point, and he hadn't even taken out one of Elio's pokemon. He still had four other pokemon, so he shouldn't be angry at all.

 

"Okay, come out Salamence!"

 

"Kendo, this is your fight."

 

Both pokemon jumped into the battle field and waited for further instructions. However, the boy flicked his wrist and Elio noticed that he had a small orb plastered in his brace.

 

"It's about time I got serious. Salamence, let's fly!"

 

The pseudo Dragon type was enveloped in bright light as its whole image changed completely. The legs were gone and the wings expanded up to its face. The tail got relatively shorter and its face grew narrow, giving off a fierce gaze.

 

Elio now felt nervous for this battle, opting to return Kendo and allow Kaili to deal with it. But she looks quite excited to have a go at it so he allowed her to take this battle for the team.

 

"Steel Wing, go!"

 

_Shit._

 

"Dodge and use Moonblast!" Kendo jumped over the Salamence and charged up her attack, barely grazing the back of its wings. The attack looked like it missed but it actually landed, giving Kendo the upper hand. The boy kept ordering the dragon to use Steel Wing and Kendo kept on dodging, sending a few flying kisses at it to enrage it.

 

"Okay, let's end this with another Moonblast!"

 

"Beat her to it and use Iron Tail!"

 

Salamence charged at her as its tail went silver, striking her side and sending her flying. She tried to get right back up but fell with a thud, which ended the fight. Elio apologized as he returned her back to her ball, taking out his next partner. Kaili flew out of her ball as they resumed the battle. Both dragons exchanged Dragon Pulses back and forth, none of them letting down whatsoever. Kaili was out sped by Salamence and was eventually taken down as well.

 

He was now down to three Pokemon now, and it worried him. Shindo tried his best, but his Special Defense was so low he was taken out with two Dragon Pulse's. Kai's ability immediately sent him back to his ball, and one more hit would've taken him out immediately. Cha was only able to land one Flying Press and fainted with Salamence's Rock Slide. Elio had no more pokemon left to battle with.

 

The boy let out a laugh and smirked in his direction. "Come on, don't tell me the so called 'Champion' only has a measly five pokemon?"

 

Elio glanced back at Vale's pokeball in the throne, and unfortunately the other boy noticed. "Well, it ain't fun if you don't give it your all. Go ahead and call the last Pokemon so I can claim this room." The ruby eyed boy shaked his head and just wanted to give him the title already. But he and his Salamence remained where they were, ready to continue the battle. "I can't battle with this Pokemon, so might as well just hand you the title."

 

"I can't accept it unless I defeat that Pokemon," he leaned on one foot and sneered at the other. "What, are you scared little boy?"

 

It was no use, this guy wasn't going to leave unless he battles with Vale. They've only taken one step! They weren't ready for this! Elio picked up the ball and hesitated for quite a while. No. If they were going to lose this, he needed to do this with his head up high and do it. He'll just have to apologise to Vale once he gets back home.

 

Returning back to the battlefield, Elio planted his feet on the ground and prayed for this to work. He knew he needed to count on Vale if he wanted to lose gracefully, so he put all of his faith into one throw. "Come on out, Vale!"

 

And once again, he just sat there, unmoving and with his eyes closed. But Elio had faith in him, he believed in Vale.

 

_Twitch_

 

"So, a Tyranitar, huh? Pretty rare to find someone have one of those." Salamence took its stance, ready to strike at any given moment.

 

"However, this battle is already decided. We're going to be the ones who come out victorious!"

  
  
  


_They're wrong._

 

Inhaling enough air, Elio called out to the boy with a single sentence.

 

_"_ _Let's do this!"_

 

Salamence started up with a Steel Wing, flying up to the air and heading straight to Vale's chest. Elio was aware that Steel was super effective on Vale, and he felt slightly worried that it would've knocked him down with a single hit. Salamence was nearing Vale, and Elio was tempted to ask Vale to dodge. Feeling his worry rise up again, he shut his eyes and screamed out.

 

"Grab  its wings!"

 

He could only hear the sound of something breaking before him. Like when you grab the remaining of an egg shell and pressed on it hardly, hearing the shell crack as you break it down. Elio opened his eyes, looking up at the scene, hitching his breath. There he was, arms placed over Salamence's wings and halting the attack. Vale had actually _listened_ to him and was holding back Salamence with both his arms!

 

Both pokemon glared at each other, each of them roaring out as Vale sent Salamence back in his place.

 

This feels unreal. Vale moved. He actually _moved_ and was waiting for further orders. Elio was on a high as Vale turned his head back at him, giving him a firm nod. The raven grinned and returned his attention to the battle. "You wanted my full power, you got it! Vale use Stone Edge!"

 

The pseudo Rock/Dark type slammed his fist into the platform as pointed stones emerged from the ground. Still trying to get back into the air, Salamence was knocked right back down and was immediately defeated as it reverted back to normal. Vale huffed out and glared at the trainer, daring him to send out the next pokemon.

 

"Your turn, buddy."

 

"Lay off. Arcanine!"

 

His last three Pokemon were no match for Vale as he sent each of them down with a single Stone Edge, and Elio came out as the victor once again. The trainer grumbled underneath his breath, leaving the Champion's room begrudgingly. Elio jumped in happiness, real glad that he pulled through when he was in a pinch. He was about to go celebrate with Vale when the pokemon cowered at the sight of him. Elio sighed, forgetting that Vale was still remembering the incident from that day. He was aware that telling him not worry was not going to help, but being honest with him was the best option.

 

"Hey, buddy," he crouched down as a sign of caution. "You did great out there."

 

Vale averted his eyes anywhere else that wasn't his face. Elio lifted up his hair, revealing his huge scar. "Vale, I want you to look at it." The Pokemon refused, so he went to the direction he was facing. He reached to turn Vale's attention to him, showing him what he had done. "Yes, you did do this to me. And yes, I was left traumatized after that. But please understand that everything is over, you're not the Larvitar you were back then. You are Vale, the pokemon I ever so loving raised with care and attention. We need to get past this, we're better than this."

 

Vale reached his hand over his scar, looking quite guilty that he did this to the trainer who rescued him. He could tell from his eyes that he was determined to move on if Elio was going to be by his side every step of the way.

 

"Now come on boy, let's head back home."

 

**───────────**

 

**_Gladion_ **

 

He watched the match from TV last night, and he wasted no time to head to Elio's to congratulate him. When he arrived, the door was wide open as his pokemon were outside in a circle around the porch. Elio walked out with his back faced towards them. "Okay everyone, I know it's been a while since you've seen him, so give him a warm welcome."

 

Vale carefully exited the front door, looking at all their faces anxiously. When his eyes landed on Gladion, he perked up and nudged Elio to him. The raven turned around and smiled at the sight of the one who helped him through his problems. "Gladion, hey!"

 

"I saw the match. I'm happy for you."

 

"Thank you. If it weren't for you, Vale and I would've never fixed our relationship." Gladion lightly blushed and looked down, not used to being complimented for his help. Elio allowed Vale to reunite with everyone as he joined Gladion for a walk. "Honestly, though, thank you for helping me out. It was...the first time someone ever really helped me out like you did."

 

"Don't mention it. Next time you feel troubled talk to us about it, and don't exclude the other two like how you did." Elio scratched his neck in guilt.

 

"Yeah, I'll try."

 

"You will."

 

"Yes, sir." Gladion chuckled, punching him playfully in the arm. They stopped by the rails on Route 1, looking over the beach together.

 

"I almost lost the battle yesterday if it weren't for Vale."

 

"That Salamence was pretty powerful, but the match was admirable."

 

"Can I hug you?"

 

Silence hung in the air as Elio glanced at the older boy, his bangs shielding his expression. Elio bit his lip and opened his mouth to take back what he said, but Gladion beat him to it. He felt a grip on his wrist as Gladion pulled him forward. He honestly expected the hug he had asked for, just a quick one if anything. But Elio was met with a pair of lips crashing into his own, not exactly what he wanted but he'll take it. He'll take all of it.

 

The blond pulled away as fast as a Quick Attack, rapidly turning away. "F-figured you wanted something...better."

 

Still in a daze, Elio stared at his back and reached towards him. "You caught me off guard, but I can take it."

 

Sounds of cries interrupted their moment as Elio's team stumbled over the corner, Vale landing over everyone. Both trainers laughed at their sneaky antics before another voice joined in the commotion.

 

" _It_ ** _is_** _love!_ Dude, I freaking _called_ it!" Hau yelled as he ran up to them, smiling widely as Lillie joined him. Gladion glared at the boy for mentioning his observation. Elio was tackled down by the others, their laughter filling his ears. Gladion watched from afar, smiling to himself that someone like Elio came into their lives and changed everything. Lillie became more confident in her skills while Hau learned how to actively think about others.

 

Gladion? Well he learned how to become a better person and to depend on other people if he ever needed it. Elio was his— no, their first true, and real friend.

 

He went to go help the three of them, joining into their laughter. "Okay, okay, relax and let him breathe."

 

"So are you guys together now?"

 

They never really thought about it. Their relationship was weird to say the least, but if Elio wanted to be with him as a couple, then Gladion would allow it. The younger boy pondered for a while, and smiled at the thought.

 

"I would like the thought of being—"

 

"—together, but we both have our flaws and insecurities so it would be best to just take baby—"

 

"—steps as we go along."

 

Hau and Lillie stared at them with utter shock. "Why don't you guys," Hau signaled at both of them. "just skip the dating and move on to the marriage because you are acting exactly like a married couple."

 

Gladion and Elio exchanged looks and laughed at Hau's statement. The four of them ended up laughing underneath the Alolan Sun, enjoying their once in a lifetime moment where they could act as friends once again. New relationships were made, and more bonds were strengthened, and Pokemon reunited once again. Everything had turned out for the better, and Elio had Gladion to thank for that. Who knows what else does the world have in store for them?

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"So about that scar..."


End file.
